


Betwixt and Between

by lirin



Category: Oxford Time Travel Universe - Connie Willis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-18 23:56:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20200324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lirin/pseuds/lirin
Summary: Dunworthy takes his new students on a farm field trip.





	Betwixt and Between

**Author's Note:**

  * For [primeideal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/primeideal/gifts).

Part of being an historian—one of the many, many parts that they scarcely mentioned in the vids—come to think of it, were there any parts of being an historian that they  _ did _ mention in the vids other than "experiencing the idyllic (read, idealistic) past for yourself" and maybe five seconds of library research montage in one of the most photogenic rooms of the Bodleian? But regardless, part of being an historian was learning the ways they did things in the past, so that you would fit in and not, say, be arrested as a probable spy. Or burnt at the stake, depending on your destination era.

It was just as well that students learned this up front. So Dunworthy had determined that in the opening weeks of every tutorial, he would tell his students to set aside a weekend for a field trip, and on that field trip they would dress up in old-fashioned clothing and tromp all over a nearby farm helping with the chores and in general doing the sort of hard labor that the vids didn't hint at.

It was raining today, so his students were being tossed into the deep end even more than usual. The light in Jamin's eyes had dimmed as soon as today's agenda had been announced, and he seemed to be spending most of his time "helping" in the farmhouse kitchen where he could avoid the mud. But Grace seemed to be enjoying herself; if anything, her smile was bigger now than it had been when she first walked into Dunworthy's office and said she wanted to be an historian. She had the necessary drive, Dunworthy thought. And as for Jamin, maybe he'd come around eventually. Students often did, once they had more time to think.

"We'll feed the animals next," Dunworthy announced, beckoning Jamin out of the kitchen once again. He led the way to the barn. The owners of this farm were back at the farmhouse, but they'd told him what each of the animals needed, and they'd assured him that they were all friendly.

"Now, don't open any of the stalls until you—" Dunworthy began, but it was too late. Jamin had let the ox out. Dunworthy looked around desperately for somewhere to get away. Grace was already diving over the nearest stall door, so Dunworthy followed her for lack of any better options. They found themselves sharing a stall with a donkey, who didn't look happy to see them, but if Dunworthy had to choose between an ox and an ass for getting kicked by, he thought the latter was likely to do less damage.

He leaned against the side of the stall and sighed. This was the worst introductory field trip yet.

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt for this ficlet was [John Gardner's adaptation of "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VTkJSIXXzU), of which the third verse is:  
_In a manger laid, and wrapped I was_  
_So very poor, this was my chance_  
_Between an ox and a silly poor ass_  
_To call my true love to my dance. _


End file.
